What I like about you ...

These are the top qualities of my favorite people in MY life that define contentment...

One- They rarely say bad things about others. Even when the group is gossiping or meddling in other peoples business, they sit quietly or chime in with something nice to say about that person.

Two- They live simply. They aren’t filling their lives with fluff and circumstance. They appreciate beautiful things but don’t need every single one of those beautiful things. They are living in the world, but are not of the world.

Three- They care very little about what others think about them- they know who they are, they’re self worth, and that God loves them… this is all that matters.

Four- They make me feel happy and joyful after spending time with them. I know that I can act or say something stupid and I won’t be kicking myself afterwards because they are quick to forgive me and see past my faults.

Five- I learn from them. There are wonderful moments where new thoughts, ideas, or worlds are opened up to me.

Six- They make me want to be a better person. They inspire me to develop my talents and aspire to greater things.

Seven- They care very little about what social interactions others are busy with, and are happy when others succeed. They aren’t filled with jealousy and don’t compare themselves to others because they are busy with their own friendships and relationships, and they are grateful for all that they have.

Eight- They make me to want to make good choices.

Nine- It’s not all about them. They are not self absorbed or always changing the subject to talk about their accomplishments or “Debbie Downer” woes.

Ten- They are hard workers. They are not idle and lazy. They use every precious moment to its fullest- whether its working, cleaning, playing, or meditating.

Eleven- They see the simple joys in life and make me laugh.

Twelve- They serve. There are times when no one knows all that they do because they don't boost or brag when they give back. Giving comes naturally.

Thirteen- They glow with the light of goodness. They have an inner beauty that radiates and attracts people to them.

Adoption Story

I have felt the need to write a blurb or two or three about our journey to adoption. As most of you know Russ and I adopted our little Gracie Girl. The baby road was not an easy one for us, I was the issue not Russ, with PCOS as the cause. For me to be the problem was one I couldn't wrap my mind around. I seemed healthy, my mom conceived if she sneezed--I thought it all would be easy. I didn't know what was going on in my husband's mind to be honest, he puts on his usual kind, supportive game face and goes about life with a happy, cheerful heart. This is not to say he didn't have his own emotions running rampant in his heart. On top of all the emotions you add the sting of hearing everyone around you is having a baby either by choice or by accident.

One year into "infertility" and six cycles of clomide on top of metformin, and I had enough. Let's just say my hormones had run amuck. Russ never mentioned having me institutionalized but I am sure the thought crossed his mind. We decided we had enough and went off medications. It was then that we decided to turn it over to God and wait.

This is not to say that it got easier for us once we decided to turn it over to the Lord. It was a real test of our faith. Both Russ and I had felt strong impressions that it was time to start our family. We struggled understanding why God would make us feel this way, but make it seemingly impossible for us to bring a child into the world.

Everything changed in early November of 2004. We recieved a call from Russ's dad explaining a situation of a girl in his parents' ward by the name of Alisha. Alisha had become pregnant during her engagement, and the young man whom she was to wed decided he couldn't be a part of it all and broke off the engagement. After much prayer, Alisha had made the difficult decision to place the baby for adoption. The way I understand it is that she prayed about giving the baby up and our names had come to mind. I had never met this girl, though I imagine that Russ's parents had shared our story with Alisha's family in passing and they thought of us as they prayed for an answer to their prayer asking the Lord with whom they should place this precious little baby. Little did Alisha know that her decision would be an answer to our prayers as well. When asked by Russ's parents, "What do you think?" I cried and told Russ, "Tell them yes, please tell them yes."

I can't put into words what it means to Russ and me to have Gracie in our home (though I imagine you have already seen from the number of blog entries about Grace that we, like many parents, are a bit obsessed with our child). There's not a doubt in our minds that Grace was meant to be in our home. And hindsight has helped this experience become an incredible faith-building tool for us. The strong impression of "it's time to start your family" which at one time was a source of great frustration to us, was the same feeling which helped us recognize that the phone call we received from Russ's parents would change the course of our lives.

I find it amazing how the Lord so thoughtfully and kindly places people in our lives years before they are ever go to be of influence. Who knew that our two families would have such an experience as this? Obviously, neither of us knew the magnitude of the other's situation. For me, there is no question that the Lord's hands guided us to one another. In the end when I think back on this experience I thank God for Alisha. I am thankful that he never left Alisha's side, he gave her the strength needed and the ability to be in tune enough with his will to make a decision so dificult, she truly is a blessing beyond belief. We love you Alisha.

Attitude ...

I have been thinking a lot about my attitude towards my daily life lately. I often find myself annoyed or bugged by things that are either out of my control or just small things to which I shouldn't even give a second thought. I have been trying to find ways to change my attitude, such as exercising more, reading a fun book, and getting out of the house with Grace more often--thinking that my attititude must be connected to boredom. It wasn't until this morning, though, that I realized the answer was much more simple than that.

The chain of events went like this... I was trying to write my monthly presidency message for our RS newsletter. This month's topic is "Providing Relief." I am thinking, "Ugh! What do I have to say on this topic? I don't know anything about this," "I feel so green in the area of church knowledge," and "I am sure people will read this and go, 'Humf! What does she know?'" As I am researching and typing, typing and researching I came across a talk entitled "Service, a Divine Quality," by Elder Carlos H. Amado. In this arcticle he talked about ways in which we can follow Christ's example in service and then one section hit me like a ton of bricks.

A Change of Thought and Attitude:

"I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make our own decisions.

Christ cannot help us if we do not trust Him; He cannot teach us if we do not serve Him. He will not force us to do what’s right, but He will show us the way only when we decide to serve Him. Certainly, for us to serve in His kingdom, Christ requires that we experience a change of thought and attitude.

“For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5:13).

"Christ cannot help us if we do not trust Him; He cannot teach us if we do not serve Him. He will not force us to do what’s right, but He will show us the way only when we decide to serve Him. Certainly, for us to serve in His kingdom, Christ requires that we experience a change of thought and attitude."

My attitude was not just a refelction of boredom, it was a reflection of my spirituality. How embarrasing to think and say. Needless to say I am working on being more positive, more uplifiting, more forgiving ... and the list goes on. The important thing for me to do is work on those things not with a heavy heart or discouragment, but to be hopeful in the midst of all that needs to be changed or learned.

Grace has a new older man in her life. We went to bear lake with some friends a few weekends ago and Grace absolutely adored their oldest son Garret. While sitting in Garrets lap playing a computer game she looked up at him, gazed into his eyes and said "I love you". All of us heard, gulped and had a good laugh. Kids are so sincere and honest.

Adventures in dressing

I have surrender to the fact that I can no longer dictate what my child wears, well not always. The only thing I can do is pick out cute clothes and trust in Gracies ability to throw an ensamble together. Here is the outcome of two situations where I have asked her to pick out clothes.She asked me to lift her in the mirror so she can see how beautiful she looks. Note the shoes are on the wrong feet.





Google Bret Micheals and see who wears the bandanna/ hat combo better Grace or him. No more rock of love for Grace ha, ha, ha.

Feeding the fish

Grace and I took off to Vegas for a week and a few days while Daddy was in NY. I love going to Vegas, not so fond of the weather but the company is a lot of fun to have around and it is 24/7 that I have someone to play with when I am there! We got to hang with my sis and her family and then went to Papa's house (my dad) for a few days. He took us skiing at Lake Meade. This is always a fun trip because we get to feed the fish. The fish frenzy is like nothing I have ever seen. You throw popcorn out and they come by the hundreds--I swear if I had the guts I could walk on them. Grace loves it because for every one piece of popcorn she throws out she gets to eat two pieces. Look at my little one share (now if only we could apply that concept to her human friends--ha, ha, ha).

My little bro's decided to go a little Bear Grills on me by luring the fish and catching them with their hands. Unfortunatley the efforts were fruitless, but comical to watch!

Uncle Luke and Grace feeding more fish!

Utah Trip

UTAH TRIP, forever ago, ugh!! Grace and I traveled to Utah a few months ago to see the family. We had fun!Grace got sick for like three days so it slowed our travels a bit but as soon as she recovered it was crunch time. This trip was the first trip where all of the Hymas grand kids were in town all at once. Grace got to spend her b-day in Utah and even celebrate with her birthday bud and cousin Mason!!! We tried to take a big group photo but the kids had another agenda! It was pretty comical.

The highlight of the trip was going to Grandma Betty and Aunt Jan's house!! Those two women are always happy to see visitors and take the time to just sit and catch up with you. I have the best conversations with her and just feel so at ease when I am around her. That is what Grandma's are about in my book. We planted flowers, and played in the back yard mostly. Aunt Jan gave Grace a ride in the wheelbarrow, which by the way Grace now wants one for Christmas. I tried to explain to her that wheelbarrows aren't just for riding in and then quickly asked myself "but why not?" I decided wheelbarrow's should be for riding not working. Grandma betty sent Grace home with a grocery sack full of goodies stemming from dolls, to a "twirly baton" and a watering can for flowers. I just love those two women, they are so incredibly sincere and loving!!

Grace and I also got to go see Kung Fu Panda with one of my oldest and closest friends Tricia and her little man. I have known Tricia since I was 15, it is always so much fun to be around people who really know who you are!! Tricia is really the only person I have kept up with from High School so I love our roots!!

When we got home the birthday fairy had visited Gracie here, she left her a bike. A good friend of mine told me about the birthday fairy and we decided she needed to visit our house as well. Grace had a hard time figuring out the peddle situation on the bike so Russ asked me to demonstrate ... silly me trusted him, what he really needed was a good laugh.

We had fun in Utah, thanks again to G-Ma Betty for taking the time to play with us! We Love you so much.

What no shopping, that is absurd!!

I see these ticker things all the time and I never have a reason to put one up ... until now. I am giving up random , I am bored, stupid shopping.

My reasons you ask? I wanted to challenge myself to something that is really hard, I figure I am not much of a marathon runner lover so that is out and Russ and I want to build up our little "love nest" together. What better way to start than to give up the most expensive past time a woman has!?!I know it sounds super shallow that giving up shopping would be challenging for me but it will be, so there's my shallow comment for the year. I decided that December 1st would be a great day to end this as I will undoubtly have to get Christmas gifts.



I know I have it in me to not, I have done this before but not for this long, lets see how I do.

Any other friends want to join in the challenge I welcome the support, maybe we can start a blog dedicated to our withdrawal gripes ha ha ha. Wish me luck!

Sisters

I love my sisters!! I was blessed with one blood sister who is truly my best friend!! I have also been blessed with three sisters in law that are just as wonderful as my own!

The First: Kenni J. Peterson Burdette:

Kenni: She is my rock my constant anything! She is my shoulder to lean on when I need honesty and love in my life. She makes me feel like I am the funniest person alive by laughing at all my jokes no matter how lame they are. She is my example of what a mother truly is about. Beyond all this she is without a doubt my bestest friend in the whole wide world!

The Second: Lisa Marie (Hymas) Willey:

Lisa: She is the most gentle of all my sisters, she does things with so much care and concern for others. So wonderfully low key and relaxed, she is always laughing and smiling. Lisa from day one has always made me feel like an original Hymas gal.

The Third: Jenny Ann (Hymas) Purdie:

Jenny: She is so amazingly accepting of all of those around her, soooo very non-judgmental especially of me and my many moods. She always allows me to be who I am ... human. Jenny is the little sis I always wanted and never had. I am sure she gets sick of my advice on how to live her life but she always listens. Always likes to make you consider the other side of the coin, I like that quality in people. Jenny, truly has more faith in God than I can ever dream of having, she is a great example for me of unconditional love! Ooot Oooo Jenny !

The Fourth: Liz (Horrocks) Hymas:


Liz: Okay so Liz may very well be the funniest chick I know! She is always making me laugh with her obsession with the words "butt" and "poo". Liz is the most real person I have ever encountered. Sooo very low maintence in all aspects of her life. She rarely gets offended, this quality in a woman is amazing to me. I can talk openly with her about my gripes and she never changes her outlook on things she just listens.

God has blessed me abundantly with sisters!! I love them they are such strong women ... such beautiful women!

Deep thoughts from ... Jack Handy well not really

Deep thoughts from Tommi actually~ My dear, sweet other half sent this to me this morning, it is so appropriate for the current "life experience" he and I are having:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." Gordon B. Hinckley

to be continued ...

Soooo as many of you know by now, Russ was called to the Bishopric as first counselor. We took this very large pill and swallowed it humbly. I have to say at first we were scared, nervous, apprehensive did I mention humbled, a large part of me is still all of thee above. Russ, of course as with anything he does has been faithful and accepting of the tasks set before him. I have to be honest and say as a mother and wife I immediately worried about the existing time my husband spends away from our home, with work and other various responsibilities he has taken on, to add such an element as this makes the gears in my head and my heart pump even faster than I can keep up with. Over the course of the days I have come to realize that this life truly is not about me but what I can give up to the lord's will, something that I have a hard time with being the control freak that I am. I have been humbled and I needed that. With all this said, it is important for all of you to know that my trust in the lord has increased even more than it was before. I truly believe he sees that Russ and I have so, so, so much to learn so with that he has so gently and kindly put us in this current "life experience" (if you will) so that we can understand and love him even more! I know that with a little attitude adjustment on my part and a little tlc from the Honey, that Russ and I will come out of this even more blessed than before.

Bowling, horses, tinkerbell dance off and the princess

Sounds like the title of one exciting children's book, no? The Hymii's have had some fun adventures these past few weeks, here are some of them:

• Grace experienced bowling for the first time with her Friend Miss Star and what would bowling be without the occasional lipstick refresh (see bottom left pic for demonstration). I guess you have to have mad hops in the sport of bowling as well.
  
  
• Daddy and Grace made muffins one morning, daddy even let her dress him up with a pretty headband, what a sport!
  


• We have discovered princess's in our home which ups the already existing diva factor! The jewelery of choice happened to be earrings, when they are on we have to fling our head and hair just so. We are still working on our natural Princess smiles ~almost there.





• Oh and did we mention horses? Yes, Grace loves horses, apparently she told us so (direct quote) "I always loved horses mommy, I told you this for three days". Some friends of ours have two horses and a mule, we couldn't get Grace off them. Russ and I experienced a fun tantrum trying to pull her off which required us to exercise our newly found "love and logic" parenting skills, I think we passed.



• One pic that is our favorite and happens more regularly than not in our home is the shopping cart pile up of dolls. Maybe one day Grace will make a run for the Tijuana border with a small pickup truck packed with furniture, I suppose these are her practice years. In case some of you don't understand this comment, there are Hispanics that come to the states , pick up a ton of furniture and haul it down to the border to sell I presume. These trucks are packed to the hilt and are really impressive to see. Google it I am sure you won't be disappointed.
  


• Last but not least Grace loves classical music these days and what would classical music be without dressing up like Tinkerbell and having a dance off with mommy. Fortunately no demo pic of mommy but one from Miss Grace taking the appropriate final pose at the end of her beautiful dance.
  

Life Lessons

Well, we learned two important lessons this week:

Lesson #1: When you go on a short business trip and only take one change of clothes, be sure to check with your boss before packing to avoid this...

I can't tell you how many people asked if this was the "Ross, Dixon & Bell uniform" during the dinner we attended. On a more positive note, it does make your boss think that you really admire him and want to be like him in every way.

Lesson #2: Don't underestimate your kid's deductive reasoning powers. As we try to teach our little one about Heaven, we made a comment last night about living with Heavenly Father. Gracie raised both hands in the air and responded, "I want to live with Heavenly Father. I'm going to get hit by a car and live with Him!!" Freaky, right? Well, turns out that earlier that day, Tommi and Grace were out and about and Grace started to venture toward the road. Tommi had said something like, "Gracie, you need to hold Mommy's hand when we get near the road. I don't want you to get hit by a car. If you do, you can't live with Mommy & Daddy anymore--you have to go live with Heavenly Father."

Guess we need to be a bit more careful about how we phrase things, huh?

Hawaii

I finally was able to scratch Hawaii off of my life list of places to see!! Russ and I went minus the little one and we had so much fun! I came back freakishly tan and Russ with his Irish skin sought out the shade. Here is a list of a few things we experienced and or appreciated~

• Sleep~ (first thing on the list)! We were able to sleep in, no late night water or bathroom calls from the little miss. Ahhhhhh



• Road to Hana~If any of you have done this you will know what I mean when I say "AMAZING"! Please go experience this drive for yourself I promise you won't be disappointed. On this drive you can stop at numerous waterfalls and not one was disappointing. We were offered some "Maui Wowie" TWICE! We decided that this was either very common or we looked really uptight.



• Snorkeling with the Turtles~ Although they were sparse it was still really amazing to see them so closely.



• Learning to Surf~ We learned with the MTV "Living Lahina" cast. I loved this show when it was on because these guys are truly funny and super dumb! They were so awesome and easy to learn from. My back, shoulders and arms were on fire by day's end. I can see how this becomes an addiction for most, I will for sure be back in the ocean to learn more once it warms up!
  
  
• Car accident~ Yes we were rear-ended while we were there. Russ and I were at a dead stop and got hit by this poor lady who was going about 30. All I could say was "Holy hell" when it happened. This poor lady had the sadest story, she was there to spread her son's ashes who had commited suicide three months earlier. To make the story worse it was her only child. By the end of the ordeal I was in full blown water works and ready to pay for the damages to the cars myself. The blessing ... I have a new friend named Diana and I hope she comes to SD to visit me soon. Oh and did I mention we opted out on the rental insurance, gulp! Here is where you can call us idiots, luckily her insurance covered everything so we don't even have to worry, even if it didn't our our own car insurance would have but no thank you.



• Shave Ice or is it Shaved Ice ?~ My mind-boggling question on the trip was whether it is pronounced Shaved Ice or Shave Ice. Here in the "Main land" it is commonly called shaved ice not in Maui though every where we went we saw signs for shave ice. Things like that irritate me not sure why? Please clear this up for me someone ... anyone.
  

A shout out to Grammy for making this all possible by coming down to SD and watching the Misses despite the fact that she just had surgery a week prior to coming down. We truly appreciate you and love you!! Thanks for making it so comfortable leaving our little one for the first time!!!

Russ and I decided that Hawaii is a must every year, it was such a relaxing place to be!!

released ...

I was released from my calling yesterday. I have to be honest and say that a part of me was relieved ... at first, but as it sunk in I realized how much I am going to miss this calling in particular. I know that it was busy and required me to be there every Sunday and Wednesday. I know that it was super challenging and emotionally draining at times BUT it certainly was the funnest time I have had in a calling. The YW's president is one of the funnest, most giving people I have ever met I have found such a wonderful friendship in her!! The girls were nothing short of amazing, they are up against so much more than I ever was and in spite of that they are still very positive and a joy to be around!!

I will miss this calling for sure! I don't think we realize how blessed we are to be called to serve and help others! Magnify what you are called to do , sink yourself into it I promise you will learn so much about yourself and others!

Growing Up

It seems every time I turn around Grace has gotten bigger, she speaks in complete sentences for the most part, my assistance is no longer need at the potty and has been replaced with her announcement that she will be going and or has finished going. Grace can find the nursery on her own at church and doesn't need me to walk her in, I fear I embarrass her by walking there. Our newly found trick is her ability to get in and out of the jeep on her own oh and taking off her seat belt (gulp). I think really the only thing she needs me for physically is to get her "Milky". Don't get me wrong there are still moments of needing mom such as reading time, breakfast, lunch and dinner and the occasional quarter needed at the gum ball machine. I always laughed and shrugged off the comment from parents about how fast they grow up and to savor every moment and so here I find myself repeating the words to all of you. I have a kid not a baby, where does the time go?